Influence of man on ecology and environment | Environmental Geography | Principle Of Geography

 

Environmental Geography

Principle Of Geography

Geography Complete Study Material

(Paper - I)

Influence of man on ecology and environment

            The greed and need of human being has modified and changed the natural ecosystems greatly. The main reasons for the modification of natural ecosystems are and 1) increasing human population 2) increasing human needs and 3) changing life styles. In this lesson you will learn about different types of human modified ecosystems, the modifications brought about for their optimum utilization.

HUMAN INFLUENCE ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

           Human modified ecosystems may or may not depend on solar energy e.g. in an industry energy is provided in the form of fossil fuel or electricity or both. Some examples of human modified ecosystems are: (1) Agro-ecosystems (2) Plantation forests (3) Urban ecosystems (4) Rural ecosystems (5) Aquaculture (6) Industrial areas (7) Laboratory cultures.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN INFLUENCE OF ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT 

        (1) Highly simplified. (2) Species diversity is very low. (3) Food chains are simple and small. (4) Depend on human (anthropogenic) support for survival; need for fossil fuel energy, fertilizers, irrigation etc. (5) Attract large number of weeds. (6) More susceptible to epidemic diseases. (7) Suffer from soil erosion. (8) Highly unstable.

METHODS TO MINIMIZE HUMAN INFLUNENCE ON ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT 

Reduce our needs: We should change our habits, curtail our needs and try to conserve our resources especially food, fuel and water. 

Ecoindustrial revolution: The solution to many of the above problems is ecoindustrial revolution. It refers to a new resource and efficient production system generating minimum waste. Ecoindustry or industrial ecology is to make industrial manufacturing processes more sustainable by redesigning the industrial processes along the pattern of natural processes. 

• One way is by recycling or reutilizing most of the industrial waste. 
• Networking of different industries in complex resource exchange web where the waste of one industry is used as a raw material by for the other and so on. 
• Industry should strive for higher efficiency of energy and resource use.